Coming back from pregnancy harder than I thought, says Serena

New York: Serena Williams booked her spot in the US Open quarter-finals on Sunday, and said the biggest challenge of her post-pregnancy comeback was regaining fitness.

“Coming back from a baby is really hard, harder than I thought,” said Williams — drawing a cheer from the crowd on Arthur Ashe Stadium who had watched her 6-0, 4-6, 6-3 victory over Estonian Kaia Kanepi.

Her victory came a day after daughter Olympia turned one year old.

Seeking a 23rd Grand Slam title — and her first since the 2017 Australian Open — Williams said the greatest improvement she’d made since her return to competition in March was fitness.

“That was the most important thing for me to improve, was to be fit and be able to stay and play long matches,” she said.